Chapter 44: Ma Chao Takes Over the Mountain Stronghold

  The more he talks, the more he says, and it's also possible that he hasn't spoken to anyone for a long time.

  He talked about his own life, and although Guan Hai's family was not a wealthy one in the area, they had some money.

  His father was a small businessman, and he had only one child, Guan Hai, whom he loved dearly. Although his father traveled all over the country doing business, he did not want Guan Hai to follow in his footsteps. Making money by doing business might be okay, but it really had no status and people looked down on you.

  So from a young age, Guan Fu forced Guan Hai to study, but Guan Hai was not that kind of material. Apart from recognizing and writing characters, if you asked him to read books, he would get a headache.

  Guan Hai was not good at reading books, but he liked martial arts. His father naturally also discovered that it was no use to read books, and learning martial arts was better than being a businessman. So, his father spent a lot of money to invite masters of martial arts to teach Guan Hai, but the ones his father could invite were only third-rate martial artists.

  After being taught by more than a dozen third-rate warriors and working hard for over ten years, Guan Hai's level also became third-rate. Although he was the best among the third-rate level, he was still third-rate after all.

  Later, Guan Hai offended a wealthy and powerful family. He didn't take it seriously, but his parents were retaliated against and killed. At that time, Guan Hai was out of town, so he escaped the disaster.

  When he returned home again, he found that his parents had been murdered. Guan Hai vowed to avenge them. After several months of investigation, he finally found the enemy and killed him and his family in their home on a certain dark night.

  After killing the man, he fled overnight and ran for several days until he reached the border of Qing and Xu. He was robbed by a group of people and naturally would not wait to be killed, so he fought with the leader of the mountain bandits. The opponent was only at a third-rate level, but still couldn't compare to Guan Hai. In the end, he was cut down from his horse.

  The other bandits saw that their leaders were all dead and were frightened, kneeling down to beg for mercy, and one of them said let Guan Hai take over the mountain stronghold.

  Guan Haiyi listened, and since he was going to be a mountain bandit, he might as well enjoy the freedom. Anyway, he had already reached a dead end in life, so he became the leader of the mountain bandits.

  However, Guan Hai may not be good at reading books, but he also knows that there is a way to steal. He made three rules in the mountain stronghold: only rob people who have money, do not harm human life, and prioritize robbing wealth.

  A few years ago, Guan Hai personally led a robbery, but they didn't get much loot and instead brought back someone who was almost dead to the hideout.

  The doctor was rushed to rescue, but the doctor also returned to heaven without power. The person who was kidnapped gave Guan Hai a volume of knife method before he died, saying that it was a family heirloom, but unfortunately his own talent was not enough, and he couldn't learn much. Now that he is about to die, there is no one else in the family, and the knife method can only be passed on to Guan Hai. After finishing speaking, the person died.

  It's true that this knife technique is excellent, and after a few years of practice, Guan Hai's skills have improved. This time he picked up a treasure, and what Guan Hai thought was not bad - if he could master this technique, it would be at least a second-rate superior martial art. Unfortunately, Guan Hai has not reached that level yet, but it's just a matter of time.

  After so many years of operation by Guan Hai, the mountain stronghold has grown from less than 200 people to nearly 700 people today. All these years, there has only been one person in charge, not because Guan Hai wants to monopolize power, but because their mountain stronghold lacks talent. His subordinates can at most be a small leader leading nearly a hundred people, and more would absolutely be unmanageable, still not enough to take charge.

  Ma Chao listened to Guan Hai's words and gained some understanding of him. This year, Guan Hai is 26 years old and has been in charge of the mountain stronghold for five or six years. From top to bottom, everyone in the stronghold respects him very much. Being able to achieve this level is already quite impressive, which was beyond Ma Chao's expectations.

  "Ma Chao asked Guan Yu, 'I don't know what's going on with the other mountain stronghold?'"

  "Speaking of them makes me angry!" Guan Yu said indignantly, and then told Ma Chao about another bandit stronghold.

  Another stronghold is less than a hundred miles away, with more than a thousand people. There are five heads of households, who are five biological brothers. The five men are Zhu Long, Zhu Hu, Zhu Xiong, Zhu Bao and Zhu Lang. Together, they are known as the Five Heroes of the Zhu Family.

  The five Zhu brothers have occupied the mountain for nearly ten years, with the eldest, Zhu Long, approaching forty and the youngest, Zhu Lang, now twenty-five. As for why Guan Hai becomes enraged whenever they are mentioned, there is certainly a reason for this. Because these two mountain strongholds have always looked at each other with disapproval, especially the Zhu brothers' stronghold, which has been eager to annex Guan Hai's stronghold, but has not dared to take action due to Guan Hai's martial arts skills and the stronghold's strength.

  Guan Hai looked at them with even more disdain, thinking that the Zhu family's stronghold was a den of thieves. Apart from robbing and killing innocent people, they often bullied men and women, doing all sorts of evil things. Guan Hai also wanted to eliminate them, but unfortunately, his side was not strong enough. If they were to engage in a fierce battle, it would likely end with both sides suffering heavy losses, and Guan Hai wasn't confident that he could kill off the Zhu family's five tigers all at once.

  If only one or two were killed, and the rest escaped, it would not be possible to eradicate the problem once and for all. He himself was not a big deal, but he had a group of brothers under him, so he did not dare to act rashly in such an uncertain situation.

  Some people may ask why the government doesn't take care of it. Why not? It's simple, in today's China, there are many people occupying mountain tops, but few actually manage them.

  The Great Han is not without loyal ministers and good generals, but now the Han Emperor Liu Xuan has started selling official positions. Most local officials are absolutely not in office to serve the people, but rather to line their own pockets by extorting money from the people. They are experts at this, but when it comes to doing something for the people or the country, they rarely do so.

  The bandits have escaped, so let's send troops to exterminate them. The local fighting force is really not good, they can't beat the mountain bandits and just run away, and then there's nothing more. To be honest, no one wants to take care of it, at least in Qingzhou, no one takes care of it. If someone really wants to take care of it, as soon as the Qingzhou army arrives, all the mountain strongholds will be pacified. So, it's useless to rely on the government, which is also the reason why the bandits of Guan Hai and Zhu Jia Wuyong have been able to exist for a long time.

  Guan Hai has always been willing to do good deeds, but he didn't have the ability. However, tonight he saw a glimmer of hope.

  After contacting Ma Chao for a while, although the time was short, Guan Hai felt that Ma Chao was a very straightforward person. If he let Ma Chao help, then this matter would probably be fine. He was very clear about Ma Chao's martial arts skills, and more importantly, there was someone beside him, Guan Hai thought that Cui An would not be a good guy either.

  However, he was too embarrassed to speak up, and since they were not close relatives or friends, why should others help him out. Although it was a good deed that would rid the local area of evil, whether others would agree to it was still uncertain.

  Hesitated for half a day, finally Guan Hai gritted his teeth and put aside his old face, he had to ask for the help of Master Ma.

  At this moment, Ma Chao spoke up: "I don't know what the master of the house is thinking about, being so absorbed?"

  Guan Hai hastily regained his composure, "Master Zhe has passed away, never call him 'master of the house' again, just call me Old Guan from now on!"

  Having a favor to ask of someone, Gan Hai put aside his pride. Besides, the other person had spared his life, so what did a mere title matter?

  "Alright, Old Zhang, is there something on your mind that you're having trouble bringing up?" Ma Chao sensed a bit of an issue.

  "To be honest with you, sir, I have a favor to ask!" Guan Hai said directly, without considering whether it would work or not.

  "What's going on? Is there something I can help you with?" Ma Chao was also curious, and since Guan Yu had come to him for help, he was happy to assist.

  "My master has asked you this before, so I'll tell it straight!"

  Then Guan Yu told Ma Chao about what he wanted him to help with.

  "What you said is right, scum like Zhu Jia Wuyong should be eliminated as soon as possible! Don't worry, they won't be able to escape this time!"

  Guan Hai finally put his mind at ease after hearing Ma Chao's words, and just as they had finished eating, someone cleared the table. Ma Chao and Guan Hai stayed behind, while Cui An went to sleep after having eaten and drunk his fill.

  "Gongzi has something to say?" Guan Yu sensed that Ma Chao had come looking for him.

  Ma Chao nodded, "Old Guan, are you going to be a mountain bandit all your life and occupy the mountain as king?"

  Guan Hai was taken aback by the question, he didn't expect Ma Chao to ask such a thing, thinking that you thought I wanted to, but isn't this being forced into a dead end?

  "You also know, young master, that I'm doing this out of desperation. Over the past few years, I've thought about joining the army or doing something else, but I just can't bear to leave behind my brothers in the mountain stronghold. We've been through thick and thin together for five or six years now, how could I possibly abandon them to enjoy wealth and glory on my own?"

  What Guan Yu said was all true, and Ma Chao could also feel it. With Guan Yu's abilities, if he had joined the army of Cao Cao or Yuan Shu, he would have been able to become an officer in a few years, but he didn't do that. He really couldn't put down his brothers with whom he had gone through thick and thin together. He himself had a way out, but what about others?

  "Old General, do you believe me?" Ma Chao asked.

  "What does this mean, I naturally believe you, young master!" Guan Yu indeed trusted Ma Chao very much, because in his eyes, Ma Chao didn't have any reason to deceive him.

  "It's not time yet, when the time comes, everything will be clear!" Ma Chao said a sentence that made Guan Yu couldn't understand at all.

  "This, young master, I don't understand what you're saying!"

  "You don't have to understand, just remember this sentence. Within five years, I will definitely give you a better way out!" Ma Chao said firmly.

  "That's all well and good, young master. I, old Guan, have no way to repay your great kindness!" Guan Yu believed that Ma Chao had the ability to give him and his brothers a better future.

  "Old General, are you willing to join me in making a name for ourselves?" Ma Chao thought the conditions were ripe now.

  Guan Yu also understood Ma Chao's intention, he just paused for a few seconds before agreeing, and made a big bow to Ma Chao: "Your Excellency is above, I am old Guan paying my respects!"

  Ma Chao quickly helped him up, "Don't worry, old general. When the time comes, I will naturally find a better way out for my brothers. If I can't do it, you don't have to consider me as your master!"

  "My lord, you don't have to say that. My brother naturally believes in you and will surely achieve great things one day, and my brothers will also have a better future!" This was Guan Yu's sincere words. Later, when Ma Chao achieved great things, he would naturally let his brothers have a better future too.

  Although this person is said to be brainless, he is not someone who would easily submit to a master. He has his own considerations for submitting to Ma Chao as his lord.

  Ma Chao, although only twelve years old, was young and capital, an advantage. At such a young age, he had such martial arts skills and talent, his future prospects were boundless, Guan Yu felt that letting his brothers follow Ma Chao would absolutely have more prospects than now.

  The second is that Guan Yu thought Ma Chao was an upright person who could do things for the people, which can be felt from the conversation, and he also agreed to help deal with the five tigers of the Zhu family, such a wise lord is worth serving.

  Finally, it was Ma Chao who spared his own life, otherwise he would not have had the opportunity to say anything here. Since the lord has appreciated himself, what else can he do but work hard like a dog or a horse?

  So Guan Yu felt that following Ma Chao was a good choice, and in fact his idea proved to be correct.

  Years later, Guan Yu would still say in front of his juniors that the best decision he made in this life was to follow Lord Cao back then. He also said that he had seen it early on that Lord Cao would definitely achieve great things, but generally the latter half of the sentence was something no one believed.

  "Don't mention this for now, I'll personally explain it to the brothers when the time comes!" Ma Chao instructed Guan Yu.

  "Yes! Everything will be arranged by Master!" Guan Hai showed a subordinate's demeanor after bowing to Ma Chao as his master.

  "Alright, let's leave it at that for now. Let's investigate the matter of Zhu Jia's Wuying Mountain stronghold further!"

  Guan Hai was delighted to hear Ma Chao's words, and he told him everything he knew. Ma Chao also gained a general understanding of the bandit situation in Zhu Jia's stronghold.